


First impressions

by madridog (Cirilla9)



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Enemies to Friends, First Meetings, M/M, Real Madrid CF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 19:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16583015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cirilla9/pseuds/madridog
Summary: A story about how an unlikely friendship starts





	First impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Marca's article:  
> https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2016/12/05/58452897e5fdea1e528b465b.html

When Luka joins Real Madrid, Sergio is not the captain, just a no rank defender and it’s not his role to greet the new players.

He watches as Iker shakes hands with the newcomer, clasps his shoulder, welcomes him in the team. The goalkeeper does it all with a polite smile but not the kind of genuine happiness that appears in his eyes whenever he hugs Sergio after his scored goal or a clear shot defended by himself or without any occasion at all - just drags him close, big handkerchiefs engulf his face and Iker is kissing him the next moment.

His nice fantasies are cut by an unfriendly gaze directed at him and he sees the newest club addition staring at him with enmity and contempt.

He doesn’t like people having something against him and not telling him straight to the face what their problem is so he could defend himself but rather choosing to talk behind his back about his supposed flaws. Sergio despises cowards. Plus it creates the wrong kind of energy in the locker room.

So he is going to confront the Croatian of what was that stare.

But before he finds an occasion to reach him among the crowd of interested in a new player teammates, the short one approaches him himself.

A challenging “hey, you,” interrupts his training rudely.

He turns, not recognizing the voice yet, then shifts his gaze a bit lower, where the Croatian’s face is, chin lifted up provokingly as if about to start a fight. That’s unexpected. Surprised, Sergio speaks up sounding a bit less confident than usual.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re an asshole.”

Normally he would probably hit someone saying such things to him, a fist to the face to show them who they had picked up a fight with. But something impresses him in the tiny figure putting on a battle stance, not caring the opponent is bigger, twice as heavy probably and renowned for his outbursts.

"Really?" Sergio raises eyebrows, already starting to smile.

"Yeah," the Croatian frowns more, visibly annoyed at not being taken seriously.

"What makes you say so?"

Now his interlocutor seems taken aback for a second, then:

"Well, just... your general attitude. You're too harsh on the opposite team players, too strict on your own. You play like you fought on the arena, willing to hurt, and I mean truly hurt, people to gain results."

Sergio's smile grows into a full one. This rant sounds like praise, not a reprimand to him.

"That makes me a dedicated player."

The Croatian seems more and more baffled, speaking slower as if thinking up the next words.

“Yeah, but I mean the aggression.”

Sergio shrugs. “It’s a men’s game. Brutal sport.”

“It’s not corrida, you’re not supposed to draw actual blood.”

"Well, I'm willing to do anything it takes to make the team win."

"You could do that without wounding opponent players! As it is your attitude just leads to red card and in the result we play the game in a weaker squad."

Sergio opens his mouth to reply equally noisy but then snaps it shut.

“You’re right.”

“And you- wait, what?”

“You're right. I should play it more cool some times. Many times according to Iker. But in the midst of the game I can't think things through. I just act. And then it's too late to do anything about that and next moment I hear a whistle and see a card. Listen, I appreciate you coming at me and telling me straight to the face what you don't like about me but it's just who I am. I don't know if I can change that."

"You can try."

"I can try."

The Croatian looks robbed of words at Sergio's compliance.

"I... erm, this conversation is not going how I expected it to."

"What, you expected it to turn into a brawl?" Sergio is grinning now at how uncomfortable the other speaker looks.

"Something like that."

"I'm not _that_ savage, you know. I'm capable of holding a civilized conversation."

The newcomer is starting to look really awkward, so Sergio decides to lighten the mood some. Nothing as important on the pitch later as a team spirit created on training grounds already.

“Now that that’s settled we can move on to official introduction I guess. Sergio Ramos,” Sergio offers his hand.

He knows the Croatian’s name and the other knows his as well but he shakes his hand anyway.

“Luka Modrić ,” his grip is firm, his smile is gentle.

 


End file.
